Sauce for the goose
WASHINGTON - Anti-biotech activists are quick to point out the financial interest of life sciences companies in affirming the safety of biotech foods and liberally use the "conflict of interest" argument to urge governments and the public to dismiss corporate-sponsored science as biased. However, what is sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander. The anti-GMO movement should acknowledge the funds it accepts from companies that grow, distribute and sell organic foods - and that the organic food industry has an obvious economic interest in generating public fear of genetically engineered foods.
Top financial supporters of The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods, for example, include Whole Foods Market, which claims to be the world's largest retailer of organic foods; Eden Foods, one of the largest manufacturers of organic foods in the U.S.; and a number of other organic food industry companies. The campaign's stated aim is to "create a national grassroots consumer campaign for the purpose of lobbying Congress and the President to pass legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States."...